1. Field of Art
The present invention relates generally to container storage racks and more particularly to gravity flow shelving systems adapted for the display and storage of a variety of merchandise. The present invention features a versatile shelving system having easily adjustable and insertable racks to adapt to a variety of merchandising arrangements. The system is particularly useful for gravity feed shelving applications.
2. Prior Art
Gravity flow shelving systems are known in the merchandising art. Prior art gravity flow racks generally include an assembly of vertically spaced racks angled downwardly and forwardly, providing more shelf space than flat shelving units. During gravity flow, substantial slidable contact is made between the bottom surface of the merchandise and the upper surface of the rack. To expedite the sliding movement, each rack typically features a low friction track surface so that when a purchaser removes merchandise from the front of the rack, the remainder of the merchandise slides forward to facilitate handling by the next purchaser. This provides a natural first in first out (FIFO) movement to ensure that earlier-dated items are sold first.
Shelving systems need to be adaptable to accommodate various types of merchandise containers, product profiles, and seasonal merchandise. For instance, fresh liquids are primarily packaged in square paper-product containers coated with suitable plastics or paraffin. Other merchandise may include canned beverages, along with glass or plastic bottles and encompass a wide range of container sizes and shapes. As merchandising needs change, the prior shelving system or arrangement may be unsuitable for a new product.
Further, packaged liquids and beverages will leak when mishandled or when product integrity fails. When liquids collect on the gravity flow racks, unsightly and unsanitary bacteria-breeding conditions are created. Accumulations of such liquids also leave sticky residues that adversely affect low friction sliding surfaces and may soil fresh product beneath the gravity feed shelf. Such problems often require extensive product removal and shelf disassembly for effective cleaning of the shelves and merchandise.
One solution to these problems is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,331,243, to Doll, incorporated herein by reference, where Doll discloses a gravity flow rack in which wire shelves are coated with an epoxy enamel. Triangular bent-wire divider-track members are mountable on each shelf, forming parallel merchandise channels or rows. Containers stocked in the rows are supported beneath by only two thin wire tracks, thereby requiring minimal surface contact between the bottoms of the containers and the rack surface, and thus substantially reducing the problems associated with the commercial handling of fresh liquids. However, the shelving and dividers of the Doll gravity flow rack are secured using wing nuts and bolts, making it relatively difficult to assemble or vary the configuration of the Doll gravity flow rack.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,490,600 to Bustos, incorporated herein by reference, provides a cooler gravity feed rack in which divider panels are placed onto shelves supported in a cantilevered fashion between adjacent support posts. The shelves of Bustos requires significant structural detail and additional engagement pieces to be operative as taught.